CSX Locomotive 6064

CSX locomotive 6064, a 1972 Electro-Motive GP40-2 seen near the intermodal yard in East Syracuse.

CSX Locomotive

Out back a rather large ABB electrical transformer rests on a flatcar. Nothing but the facts.

ABB Transformer

Related Links

GE Hydrogen Cooled Generator

Mystery Loads

Posted in On the Job | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Old Dump Trucks

I’ve come across some neat old dump trucks recently that I would like to share. First, Barrett Paving and one of their site trucks that happens to be a Ford L700. It looks good with a full load of stone in the dump bed.

Ford L700 Dump Truck

Maybe that old Ford was a little to mundane for your tastes. If so, what do you think about this Marmom? The large M logo from the hood is gone. Replaced instead with a child’s toy of Bart Simpson sitting on his famous brown couch. If you can’t read the door logo let me help you. After getting the boring stuff out the way like business name and phone number we come to what I guess is the company tag line that reads “I only come to work to get loaded and take a dump”. You almost have to hire this guy base on his sense of humor alone!

Marmom Dump Truck

I stopped by parents part of town recently and notice a neighbor was receiving a new driveway by Eastern Paving. I figured I would take a look as the trucks were putting out plenty of smoke. Back in the dark days of winter I spied an Eastern truck hauling snow and tried to tag along but was foiled by traffic. For a brief moment I thought I heard the sound of a Detroit Diesel but figured in the year of 2015 with EPA drones constantly searching for violators that scream was pretty much extinct from daily runners. I was wrong. This one was happily buzzing along. I can also tell you this is not the only Eastern truck that is Detroit powered by that is a story for another day. *hint*

Ford L9000

Posted in Still Working | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Midland NovaChip

Over the past eight years or so I’ve started the tradition of taking a day off from work on my birthday. It’s like a gift I give myself. I like to spend a portion of that day driving around looking for interesting sights or activities that normally don’t take place during my usual weekend cruises. Activity like this Midland Paving crew and their Novachip paver are exactly what I am searching for during these destinationless journeys.

19675964973_d6a506bc37_b

Look at this tar and oil soaked behemoth. It’s fantastic. After passing through the construction zone I found a spot to pull over and wait for my photo window to open. The machine was out of sight, hidden by a crest in the road, but I could tell its approach by steady stream of exhaust produced by the power unit.  I really found this setup so much more interesting than your typical paver.

20270685326_7b7a142300_b

And I suppose this machine looks different as it is not laying down your typical layer of pavement. NovaChip is a self priming paver intended to lay over an existing stretch of road that has been pretreated with a polymer rich asphalt emulsion. I won’t pretend that I knew that before hand or even what that statement really means so check out the Midland site if you’re interested.

Posted in On the Job | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Huskie Town USA

Brockway National Truck show coverage concludes today by starting at the headwaters of the parade route, the CNY Living History Museum. I arrived early on Saturday to look over the trucks that had lined up the day before and to possibly catch a few more arriving on the scene. And arrive they did.

Later I caught a different angle when I walked the main street of Cortland while letting the camera run. The trucks, the sounds, the people. It’s almost like you’re there in person.

Finally we return to the still photos. There are few off brands in the mix that helped bring the stars of the show to Cortland. You’ll notice in the video above to the final truck I chase appears to be leaking coolant. This wasn’t the case but it did come from a truck that passed by just a few moments prior. You can see it being pushed into place in the gallery below. I don’t know about you but I sure had a great time reliving the memories of last Saturday. Until next year keep those Huskies rolling!

Posted in Truck Show | Tagged | Leave a comment

Brockway Trucks of Cortland, NY

Brockway, the gold standard of trucks everywhere. Was that an actual advertising tag line for the company? If not, it should have been. What a pair of beautiful trucks right here. Classic Brockway form.

Brockway Trucks

Today we have a mix of photos from the parade route, the museum and back to downtown Cortland. Not all trucks made the journey with some Huskies staying behind to guard the fort like this 761 once operated by Stuben County.

Brockway 761

In the video below you’ll find some footage of trucks finding their parking spots along main street along with two seriously loud Detroit Diesel powered rigs of which one is a former Colonial Sand and Stone truck. While it looks great in its current faded glory it will receive some much needed attention this winter.

Mega gallery part 2 with still more to come.

Posted in Truck Show | Tagged , | Leave a comment

2015 National Brockway Truck Show

Do you remember the debacle from last year in which I brought a video camera with a near dead battery forcing me to record only the first five minutes of the Brockway Truck parade? Of course you do. I’m sure many of you still see a therapist because of that horrible day. This year I made sure I had a fully charged battery. In fact, I brought three. It’s a good thing I did because the 2015 National Brockway Truck show was one for the record books. I don’t have official count but through anecdotal observation (the best kind of observation) this year was one of the biggest to date. If the 2015 show didn’t win on truck count alone it surely took the prize for the number of a new trucks and owners that made the trip. From pristine restorations to just found survivors this show had them all and then some. The Brockway name may no longer be in production but it is far from forgotten. Congratulations to all the volunteers and others who make this show possible year after year. You really pulled of a good one. The proof is in the pudding as they say so here is 15 minutes of parade coverage.

At certain times I stopped recording to give myself a break or take some still photos. If you don’t see your favorite truck please know it wasn’t personal. There were simply so many! Standing near the start of the parade route was a great location. The trucks roaring up the grade with the rolling hills of CNY in the background produced some great photos and videos.

Brockway 760 Truck

Below, a combination of video stills and photos. After discovering a time warp I was somehow able to make it from the Brockway Museum to downtown Cortland before a majority of the trucks. There I was able to grab even more footage of the action including wandering down main street as the trucks arrived. If you couldn’t make it to the show just wait until tomorrow. You’ll feel like you were there!

Posted in Truck Show | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Autocar Mondays – Rhode Island Snow Plow

Rhode Island really has it together when it comes to old trucks. Check out out this monster machine still plowing for a living. We don’t know much about this old rig other than it’s very cool. I’d rather see this plowing the streets around town than a dozen shiny and new NYSDOT Mack Granites any day of the week. No doubt I’d feel different if I was driving but only after a few blizzards. To further invalidate the spotters guide from last week you’ll notice the radiator has no shell while the door has low mounted flip handles. There is no cab skirt. Diagnosis? Pre Volvo Autocar.

Autocar plow in Rhode Island (1024x562)

Thanks to Ryan for another great catch!

Posted in Autocar Trucks | Tagged | Leave a comment

Pride and Polish Part 2

I could have jammed all these great trucks into one post but why rush through life? Stop and savior the diesel smoke.

DSC09374-1024x660

After the truck parade finished and the awards were distributed the big rig pulling kicked into high gear. Last year I had a pretty decent line of sight of the action by standing near the full pull line. This year I waited too long and lost my spot so I headed down to the starting line. Warning, the video below is loud! Feel the power.

The second mega gallery.

Posted in Truck Show | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Pride & Polish at the Broome County Fair

I am proud to present the photos from the truckers parade held at the Broome County Fair last weekend. Thank you for your patience. I attended this event for the first time last year and was impressed with the variety of trucks and the access to the action. The show this year did not fail to deliver and once again the variety of rigs and people were outstanding thoroughly proving that last year was no fluke. Even the weather was great.

Peterbilt Custom Semi

A healthy mix of old and new.

International 9670

And custom.

Kenworth Custom Semi

This year for the truck pull segment a pair of maxed out high horsepower Kenworths made the trip from Vermont. Between the two I believe they were producing a little under 4,000 HP. Crazy! I’ve never seen the sled go near sideways before. Check out the video below.

And the glamour of still shots. Check back tomorrow for part 2!

Posted in Truck Show | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

CCI Mack Dump Trucks

Do you like old Macks? Someone over at local construction concern CCI sure does. I’ve come across a few of their site trucks at various projects this summer that I think you might enjoy. The one below is busy hauling broken concrete from a road rebuilding project. Plenty of action at this site with at least four or five dump trucks of this age hauling material to a temporary dump site. I only had a few moments to spend on the scene but I hope to return soon.

Mack Dump Truck

This one was spotted at a local manufacturing expansion project helping with site work. It was partnered with an identical unit that I didn’t bother to take a photo of because it was raining and I was afraid of melting.

Mack Dump Truck

And more! Nice offset on that grey one. Sounded good at idle too.

Posted in On the Job | Tagged , | Leave a comment